Authorities in the Midwest are now assessing the widespread damage

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People across the Midwest picked through the remains of their homes Monday after a storm system swept across six states, spawned more than 80 reported tornadoes and killed at least eight people.

Authorities in Illinois went door to door to search for people trapped in houses. The storm system tore the steeple off a church 10 minutes after Mass let out and forced the Chicago Bears to stop their game against the Baltimore Ravens.

"I've found pieces of my house 100 yards northeast of me," Scott Gundy, of the devastated city of Washington, Ill., where one person died, told TODAY.

"I got the most important things out, which were pictures, video of my kids growing up," he said. "To me that's the most important thing. Everything else can be replaced."